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Contrasting synaptic roles of MDGA1 and MDGA2

Bemben, M. A.; Sandoval, M. A.; Le, A. A.; Won, S.; Chau, V. N.; Lauterborn, J. C.; Incontro, S.; Li, K. H.; Burlingame, A. L.; Roche, K. W.; Gall, C. M.; Nicoll, R. A.; Diaz-Alonso, J.

2023-05-26 neuroscience
10.1101/2023.05.25.542333 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Neurodevelopmental disorders are frequently linked to mutations in synaptic organizing molecules. MAM domain containing glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor 1 and 2 (MDGA1 and MDGA2) are a family of synaptic organizers suggested to play an unusual role as synaptic repressors, but studies offer conflicting evidence for their localization. Using epitope-tagged MDGA1 and MDGA2 knock-in mice, we found that native MDGAs are expressed throughout the brain, peaking early in postnatal development. Surprisingly, endogenous MDGA1 was enriched at excitatory, but not inhibitory, synapses. Both shRNA knockdown and CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of MDGA1 resulted in cell-autonomous, specific impairment of AMPA receptor- mediated synaptic transmission, without affecting GABAergic transmission. Conversely, MDGA2 knockdown/knockout selectively depressed NMDA receptor-mediated transmission but enhanced inhibitory transmission. Our results establish that MDGA2 acts as a synaptic repressor, but only at inhibitory synapses, whereas both MDGAs are required for excitatory transmission. This nonoverlapping division of labor between two highly conserved synaptic proteins is unprecedented. TeaserMDGAs 1 and 2 independently localize to and modulate excitatory and inhibitory hippocampal synapses by different mechanisms.

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